Jacob: Virtues and Vices

A long time ago Jacob decided he wanted a dollhouse, so he started saving his money in the little Mailbox piggy bank of his. It seems like it's been forever that he's been saving, and even with me constantly sneaking money into it, it's hardly amounted to anything. Turns out we're going to get a handmade, heirloom one that used to belong one of the grandparents. This is so much nice because it will have meaning for us, and I've been hearing that it's a real fixer-upper, which is befitting because, hello, we're living in a fixer-upper. After we realized that the savings would go toward something else, Jacob decided on this:




We don't have nearly enough moeny saved up in his bank, but Jacob decided the other day that we do have enough and he's insisting on it. What I think he's trying to say it that he's been so darn good about saving his money for months now that he kind of needs the payoff already for the lesson to be learned. I've been trying to come up with ways to give him extra money (like I even have the extra money to begin with). I don't want to pay him for doing chores or work around the house because I think that will take away from his natural work ethic. It might devalue the fact that he enjoys work for the pure zen of it. I don't think I really want to get him started on the whole allowance thing just yet. What I came up with is a total bribe. Jacob has been coming to work with me more and more lately and truth be told, I think he's getting a little sick of it. I've already had to resort to bribing him to go to work at times, so I might as well just go ahead and put that bribe in the form of cold-hard cash. I call it his paycheck. And why the hell shouldn't I give him a paycheck? He goes there with me, and this way I can ask him to help me cleanup without feeling guilty. When we were getting ready to leave work the other day, I gave Jacob a little talk about how he had been awesome and worked so hard and that I thought he had earned a paycheck. And then I handed him the cash. He was so excited. We came home and he put it in his little bank. I actually think this is a pretty creative solution. He learns about capitalism, doesn't get spoiled, develops a savings-oriented attitude toward money and learns the value of a dollar. Cool.

If virtue = savings, then vice = lying. Don't know how he figured it out, but pretty much all at once a week and a half ago Jacob learned to lie, and get away with it. Not really bad stuff, but it totally came out of nowhere. I know this is something all kids go through. Jacob would be climbing the ladder but all I could see was the one side. "Is Daddy with you, Jacob?" I'd ask. "Yes." He'd reply. Then a minute later with still no adult male hands at the ready to catch Jacob's ascending body, I walked around the corner and discovered the lie. Zach was in the basement, not even in earshot. I was very firm in my position to Jacob that we would not accept lying. And I think it pretty much ran it's course in a week or so because he hasn't lied in a few days. I'm sure it will be back when he is a teenager though...